How sound quality affects our perception of facts

You might think you're pretty good at discerning fact from fiction, but new research sheds light on how fickle people can be when forming judgements.

In fact, a new study suggests when we're listening to information, the quality of the sound can be just as important as the message.

Duration: 3min 37sec

Broadcast:
Thu 12 Apr 2018, 8:25am

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Dr Eryn Newman, researcher, School of Psychology, Australian National University

Transcript

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SABRA LANE: You might think you're pretty good at discerning fact from fiction, but new research sheds light on how fickle people can be when forming judgements.

In fact, a new study suggests when we're listening to audio information, the quality of the sound can be just as important as the message.

Jordan Hayne reports.

(Neil Armstrong sets foot on the Moon, July 1969)

NEIL ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.

JORDAN HAYNE: It's history in the making, but the audio quality leaves something to be desired. Would more people trust the official account of the Moon landing if only they could hear a little clearer?

New research from the Australian National University suggests, when it comes to what we believe, it's not just the information we hear that matters - but how we hear it.

ERYN NEWMAN: The quality of their telephone connection, of the radio interview, actually matters a lot in terms of listeners' perceptions of how credible they are.

JORDAN HAYNE: Dr Eryn Newman is a researcher with the ANU's School of Psychology:

ERYN NEWMAN: So we had people come into our lab and we basically just asked them to listen to some scientists speaking about their research.

And sometimes people listened to scientists speaking about their research in a conference context. Other times we had people listening to scientists speaking about their research in sort of this kind of context: in a radio interview.

JORDAN HAYNE: But here's the kicker: In some examples, the audio quality had been deliberately distorted.

So some people heard this:

(Highly reverberant audio example)

AUDIO EXAMPLE 1: Now, this control schema has been used in other areas. The most notable area would be process engineering.

JORDAN HAYNE: And others heard this:

(Clean, unprocessed audio example)

AUDIO EXAMPLE 2: Now, this control schema has been used in other areas. The most notable area would be process engineering.

ERYN NEWMAN: Even though, when people were given information about the scientist - they knew that they came from a prestigious university - when the quality of the interview was bad, so when there was a bit of crackling in the background, or you couldn't quite hear what the scientist was saying, then all of a sudden people said the research wasn't as important, the scientist wasn't as intelligent, and they were less inclined to share the information on social media.

JORDAN HAYNE: Research suggests that, when our brains have a hard time understanding information - whether it's a difficult-to-read font or echoing audio - we're more inclined to dismiss that information.

ERYN NEWMAN: This is something that's not limited to the domain of science. We chose science because we thought it was an important context to understand how this plays out, but the same should be true when you're listening to literature: someone reading a book. The same should be true when you're listening to a movie or learning something new.

JORDAN HAYNE: Dr Newman says, in the age of fake news, it's essential people are making decisions based on facts rather than feelings.

But this is not the only factor at play when we form judgements.

ERYN NEWMAN: Expectations play a role here, too. So if, in the context of the moon landing, maybe that added credibility. But I think, really, we have the technology available to us now that there's really no good excuse.

JORDAN HAYNE: There is a silver lining here, Dr Newman says each of us is capable of beating these assumptions and judging things on their merits.

ERYN NEWMAN: Well, one thing you can do is kick into what we would call a more analytical processing style: that is, shift your attention to content and make sure that you're making decisions based on logic and plausibility, rather than on how information feels.

SABRA LANE: Dr Eryn Newman from the ANU's School of Psychology, speaking there with Jordan Hayne.

And here's hoping that your radio signal this morning is crystal-clear.